Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Earnings Beat

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $150.00 and last traded at $150.48, with a volume of 5648 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $144.42.

The asset manager reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.37% and a net margin of 11.99%.The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.80 dividend. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.30%.

Key Northern Trust News

Here are the key news stories impacting Northern Trust this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Northern Trust reported Q4 EPS of $2.69, beating consensus by $0.33; management published a press release and slide deck with results and commentary. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue topped estimates, reinforcing the EPS beat and signaling continued fee and asset-growth momentum. Investing.com
• Positive Sentiment: Northern Trust announced a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share (record Mar 6; payable Apr 1), which annualizes to $3.20 and implies ~2.2% yield — supportive for income-focused investors. BusinessWire
• Neutral Sentiment: Company filed its 8?K and hosted a webcast; slide deck is available for investors wanting management’s outlook on margins, expenses and capital deployment. Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst previews and commentary (e.g., Zacks) highlight elevated operating expenses and lingering asset?quality risks, which could pressure margins and future earnings if trends persist. Zacks

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTRS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Truist Financial set a $148.00 price target on shares of Northern Trust in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Northern Trust from $136.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Northern Trust in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “market perform” rating and a $142.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $135.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $136.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Susan Cohen Levy sold 27,591 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.13, for a total transaction of $3,535,234.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,183,169.41. This represents a 36.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Landers sold 766 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.35, for a total transaction of $95,252.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,313 shares in the company, valued at $909,371.55. This represents a 9.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northern Trust

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 84.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,567 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Financial bought a new position in Northern Trust in the second quarter worth about $3,118,000. Aviva PLC lifted its position in shares of Northern Trust by 8.4% during the second quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 149,911 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $19,007,000 after buying an additional 11,587 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Northern Trust by 228.0% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 75,829 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $10,207,000 after buying an additional 52,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Northern Trust by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,907,408 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $241,840,000 after acquiring an additional 96,592 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.19% of the company’s stock.

Northern Trust Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $28.46 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $136.96 and its 200 day moving average is $131.54.

Northern Trust Company Profile

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in Chicago that provides asset servicing, asset management and wealth management solutions to institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals. The company’s core businesses include custody and fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, trust and fiduciary services, private banking, and retirement and defined contribution plan services.

Northern Trust’s product and service offerings span custody and fund accounting, portfolio and performance analytics, securities lending, cash management and foreign exchange, as well as discretionary and non-discretionary investment management.